"I do apologize, Enzo, but I wish to speak with my son alone for a moment."
Enzo nodded, brushing the chalk from his hands onto his pants leg. "He is a good student, Medici, much more attentive than you ever could be."
Shade laughed and watched as the old man stepped outside the door, his suit looking as rumpled as Shade remembered.
"Did I do something wrong, Daddy? I'm studying about Italy. And I'm paying attention in class like you told me."
Crouching down to Lorenzo's level, he slid his hand across the boy’s small cheek. "I need to apologize to you, little warrior. You know, I miss your mommy a lot, and we have been so busy, I get grumpy when I don’t spend time with her. I took that out on you, and that was not fair. You did nothing wrong, Lorenzo. You make me proud, you study hard. I love you so much, and I need to ask you to forgive me. Please?"
Lorenzo laid his forehead against his father's. "Daddy, you don't have to ask. I already forgived."
Enzo's voice floated in from the hallway. "Forgave."
Lorenzo corrected himself. “Right, I already forgave. I love you too, Daddy."
Shade picked him up from his seat and held him close to his chest, as two little arms went around his neck. "Zeus arrives tomorrow morning. But here is the thing. He will have endured a long trip on that boat. We need to let him get his land legs back, because he has been bouncing around. Let him settle down a bit before we go see him. I need you to leave Angelo alone, so he can take care of Zeus, and when I wake up from my sleep, we will go together to greet him and welcome him properly to his new home. Will you do that for me?"
Lorenzo bounced in his father's arms. "Yes. I'll wait for you, Daddy. And I can feed him too, right?"
Shade smiled at the unbridled enthusiasm of his little warrior. "You better have lots of carrots and apples, because I’m sure he will be hungry after his long trip. Now, I need to get to work, and so do you.”
90
They had been home for about a week now, and Cory missed the daily contact with Madison. She’d shared his room at Castello, and every day was an adventure as they discovered Florence together for the first time.
Now that they were back, Cory was busy in the shop, and Madison was busy with her final year of college. They were back to juggling their schedules and trying to find the time to be together. Cory laid out a new piece of leather and started to cut a pattern for an outfit for Aislynn, but his mind was elsewhere. He could hear the warriors practicing outside, the clank of metal against metal, a familiar sound to his work night. His father's voice shouted out instruction as he corrected the young recruits. Cory walked to the door of his workshop and stood in the doorway, watching the young warriors sparring. His dad was easy to pick out among the crowd. As if sensing his presence, Shade turned and locked eyes with him, and Cory motioned to his dad to come join him.
Shade gave a hand signal to Marcello to take over as he left the training field and walked to the shop. He followed Cory inside and closed the door behind him, shutting out much of the sound. "Something, or someone, on your mind, son?"
Cory dropped down on the work stool by the table. "Someone is always on my mind." Cory smiled as him. "But you already know that. Dad, with everything that has happened, and Madison learning who we are, coming with us to Castello, I mean, she's practically family now, right?"
Shade walked around the shop, looking at the bolts of leather stacked against the wall before taking a seat across from Cory. "Si, I would say she is familia. Did she feed from you yet?"
Cory shook his head. “No. And I don't even know how to do that with a mortal. I mean, she won't need to feed from me, Dad. I can't turn her. She'll never be a vamp, not even a half-breed like me. Will she even have a desire for my blood?"
Shade shook his head. "Son, listen to me, I am not exactly sure about anything when it comes to what you both will feel. You are a half-breed, and she’s mortal, so I can’t identify with your experience, but I will tell you this much. Letting her feed from you is a good idea, blood bonding, even in a half-breed, will be beneficial. You won’t have the same bond as a full-blooded vampire, and of course, she can never be vampire, but you will have something, more than you have now. She will not have the desire to feed from you to satisfy her hunger. She will never feel that. But even if it is once, it will create a bond that goes beyond anything mortals can imagine.”
Cory ran his hand over his face. Another obstacle for the two of us to overcome. "Yeah, okay. I'll talk to her about it. But what I wanted to ask you is, do you think it would be okay if I went to California and took Madison with me to meet my mom? I've told Mom about her, and she’s been asking to meet her. I haven't been to see my mom in a while. I'd have to wait until Madison has her next break in school. She already missed some classes while we were in Florence."
Shade stood up and paced around the room. He knew Cory really wanted this trip with Madison. "Cory, I’m going to be honest with you. Right now, I can’t let any of my warriors go with you. We are really busy with this class of recruits, and the trip to Florence has put us behind schedule with their training. Raven is nearby. He can’t leave Napa to stay with you, but he’s there if you need him. Do you feel comfortable traveling alone? Just the two of you?”
Cory shrugged. "Dad, we'll be fine. No one pays any attention to me. I'm really happy to be a part of this family, but let's face it. All those old vamps in Europe who came to see Sophia could have cared less about meeting me. They only showed me respect because of you. Besides, we'll be at my mom's. It's the most boring place in the world. But I do want her to meet Madison."
Shade ran his hand through his hair, not completely comfortable with the idea of letting him travel without a protector. “I’ll let Raven know you’re coming. You stay at your mom’s, not in the city. And when you visit the city, stay away from your old stomping grounds, and stay out of the underground clubs, deal?”
“Jeez, do you think I'd actually take Madison to the streets where I grew up? The last thing I would want is for Madison to see how I lived. If you hadn't found me, brought me here to live, I never would’ve approached a girl like Madison. She knows I'm a half-breed, and as far as she knows, I grew up with my mom. It almost sounds normal. She’s seen our world, and she sees how I’m on the edge of it, not the center of it, and I think that’s what makes it okay for her."
"Go to California, I will talk with Raven. Just let me know your schedule. You can take the jet, and you’ll need to get a rental car. I know you can handle this, and I have to let go of the reins at some point. Spend time with your mom. Be sure she knows how much you love her.”
Cory walked around the table and hugged his father. "She knows I love her. Thanks to you, we've been able to heal all the wounds we both inflicted on each other when I was growing up. I talk to her on the phone a lot, and she just wants me to be happy. We'll be fine. You worry too much."
Returning his son’s hug, he slapped his back. “So, go, enjoy the sun of California because, before you know it, we’ll be freezing our asses off here."
As they hugged each other, Shade knew he had to let his son grow up and learn to take care of his own female.